North Lincolnshire school defends Covid tests
Pupils at Winterton Community Academy must take a lateral flow test before attending lessons.
A North Lincolnshire school has defending making pupils returning to the classroom take a lateral flow test.
Winterton Community Academy sent the entire school home last week as nearly half of pupils were already self-isolating.
Students were asked to complete a test before returning today - despite complaints from a small number of parents.
Some claimed that requiring tests before letting the children mix is an “infringement of their rights, a breach of the Equality Act 2010 or is against the school’s values of inclusion”.
The school has written to parents to inform them that after public health advice, it will be standing by the rule, saying the safety of staff and pupils took precedence.
Children who haven’t been tested will remain in a supervised area rather than lessons.
Parents also have the option for their children to learn at home rather than be tested.
It comes as Winterton & Winteringham has the highest Covid case rate in North Lincolnshire, with 725 per 100,000. Cases have tripled in the recent weeks.
A letter sent from the academy’s leadership team today says: “We are conscious that a small number of parents / carers have raised concerns relating to our request for all pupils to conduct a lateral flow test for Covid-19.
“Some concerns have also been raised where children who do not take a test are not permitted to mix with their peers in school or attend classroom lessons.
“A very small number of parents have raised the question as to whether this is an infringement of their rights, a breach of the Equality Act 2010 or is against our values of inclusion.
“We have therefore taken further, professional advice on this matter and as a result, we maintain our stance that for the remaining two weeks of term, an agreement to test is a fair and legitimate requirement.
“We have a legal and moral obligation to ensure that the school is as safe as we can make it, for all stake-holders and as such, it is felt that this is a reasonable request to allow us to achieve that.
“The academy has to respond to the level of risk which at the moment is very much heightened in the local area. All of our measures have been discussed and considered in conjunction with Public Health England, Lincs.”